: "From Ishtar to Aphrodite: 3200 Years of Cypriot Hellenism," an
exhibition presenting art and artifacts from the island of Cyprus
spanning the late Bronze Age (circa 1400 BC) to the end of the
Hellenistic period (circa 100 BC), has opened at the Onassis
Cultural Center.
Most of the 85 works in the exhibition - including sculptures and
artifacts of household objects, in terra-cotta, copper and marble
- have never left Cyprus, making this presentation a rare
opportunity to view never-before-seen treasures. The exhibition
focuses on the historical process of the Hellenization of Cyprus.
In addition to those works traveling to the United States for the
first time, four pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's
Cesnola Collection of Cypriot antiquities will be included. The
exhibition will run until January 3.
The signature piece featured in "From Ishtar to Aphrodite" is a
large torso of the Goddess Aphrodite, excavated in Cyprus in 1956
and leaving the island for the first time. Pulled from the seabed
at Nea Paphos, Cyprus, the sculpture was named "Aphrodite
Anadyomene," literally, "Aphrodite emerging from the sea." The
statue, missing the head, arms and lower legs of the goddess, is
made from marble imported from the Aegean archipelago; centuries
of seawater have weathered the surface of the marble, giving the
sculpture its distinctive shine.
The figure's raised right arm probably used to hold the end of
her long hair, and rivet holes in her hips suggest that a drapery
once covered part of the legs. Although fragmentary, this work
reflects the sculptural tradition created by Praxiteles, the most
famous of the Attic sculptors, as can be seen in the Aphrodite's
narrow shoulders and long, broad hips.
Most archaeologists agree that the deity Aphrodite originated as
Ishtar, the goddess of sexuality from the fertile crescent of
Mesopotamia. Her legend eventually wove its way westward into
Syria and Palestine, where she was known as Astarte, and into
Cyprus, where she acquired the attributes of the goddess of love.
In Greek mythology, Cyprus is considered the birthplace of
Aphrodite - in the poems of Homer she is referred to as "the lady
of Kypros (Cyprus)." Tracing an Eastern symbol in the origins of
Aphrodite, so quintessentially Greek, symbolizes Cyprus's role as
the easternmost bastion of Hellenism and the island's ability to
assimilate the numerous cultural influences to which it was
exposed over the centuries.
Greeks first settled in Cyprus during the Twelfth Century BC, in
the period that followed the collapse of the Mycenean palace
economy. The Myceneans, who had long traded with the Eastern
Mediterranean, headed east. The establishment of Aegean Greeks in
Cyprus was a late Bronze Age precolonization exodus that took
place long before the first organized expeditions of Greek
colonization began.
The style of Cypriot art evolved as new ethnic groups brought
their influences to the island; sculptural styles,
representations of deities and humans and religious beliefs from
Greek inhabitants coalesced as Cyprus was repeatedly conquered
and resettled. As the early Bronze Age began (circa 2400 BC),
people from the east arrived on the island. While earlier
sculptural representations of the human form had focused on
pregnancy and childbirth, Cypriots now turned to flat,
plank-shaped terra-cotta images of females with incised facial
features and geometric decoration, many with pierced ears,
headdresses and necklaces. This led into the increasing
naturalism of the middle Bronze Age. With the late Bronze Age
arrival of peoples from the Greek mainland, sculptures began to
show Aegean seals of impression and represent gods and goddesses
with all of their Greek attributes.
"From Ishtar to Aphrodite: Cypriot Art" was organized by Dr
Sophocles Hadjisavvas, director of the Cyprus department of
antiquities.
The Onassis Cultural Center is at the Olympic Tower on Fifth
Avenue. For information, 212-486-4448 or www.onassisusa.org.
